LARUNS – An Australian little known to the French jumped like a spring on his feet to win in the Pyrenees and put the yellow jersey in his pocket.
• Read also – 110th Tour de France: danger and the death of a rider in the lead
• Read also – 110th Tour de France: Philipsen continues to dominate
After a soporific scenario the day before, the fire was quickly rekindled with an exciting first battle between the climbers which was won in the commune of the Ossau valley by a runner who was a member of the first morning breakaway.
The hero of the day, Australian Jai Hindley, showed the ecstatic crowd why he was crowned champion of the Giro d’Italia 2022.
The rider from Bora-Hansgrohe, who lives in Andorra, says he has lived like a monk for two months to prepare for this Tour de France, without seeing his family whom he found on the side of the road for a superb victory in his first participation.
AFP
” A dream ”
“It’s amazing, I have no words. Everyone dreams of it, and I’ve been watching the Tour on TV since I was 6 so it’s almost unimaginable,” said the Perth native.
Hindley was expected to build up gradually on this Tour, but he did not miss the opportunity to shine early in the first week. His 6th place in the Dauphiné placed him among the favorites even if the Australian already had 40 days of racing on the clock in 2023.
Behind Hindley, Jonas Vingegaard also seized the important opportunity to grab a minute from his rival Tadej Pogacar on the climb to the Marie-Blanque pass. The Dane, reigning Tour champion, wins 1min04s on the line.
Despite his successful attack, Vingegaard’s confidence is not excessive since he asked for help to take over at the end of the race.
AFP
dominating Vingegaard
“It’s more serious for me to know that I lost a minute on Jonas. In the last two kilometers of the climb I couldn’t follow him, he was stronger than me,” said Pogacar.
At the start of the day, 35 other riders found themselves in the lead group with Hindley, including Wout van Aert, Julian Alaphilippe, Hugo Houle and teammate Krists Neilands.
Seeing the battle for general ruin the plan, Houle let go but Neilands attacked alone 53 km from the finish, before finding himself in the lead with Van Aert and Alaphilippe. This attempt also failed. “The last climb was too difficult for me,” explained Van Aert.
At the Marie-Blanque pass, with about fifteen candidates, Jai Hindley broke away in the company of Felix Gall, whom he dropped off further.
With a good effort in the Col de Soudet, the Austrian Felix Gall will wear the polka dot jersey at the start on Thursday in Tarbes.
A little stuck among the favorites, the Canadian Michael Woods slipped to 11th place in the general classification which remains very tight.
La Bora at work
For the second Pyrenean stage, the Jumbo-Visma and UAE teams will have to review their strategy but it is Bora-Hansgrohe who will have to take the lead.
After the ascent of Marie Blanque, the riders may have had a thought for the late Gino Mäder as they plunged at full speed down the 18 kilometer descent towards the finish.
The members of Mäder’s team certainly had a bit of extra nervousness. Despite the risks, the danger and the debate on security, nothing has appeared less than a month after the tragedy.